Judy Blume on the Tiger Eyes Film, What She’s Reading, and Why Moms Can’t Get Their Daughters to Read Her Books

Before Y.A. books were even called Y.A. books, it was the early 1970s and author Judy Blume was queen of the coming-of-age story. The One in the Middle Is the Green Kangaroo put her on the map, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret(1970) solidified her status in literary history, and Summer Sisters (1998) allowed her fanatic readers to grow well into their 20s and beyond with a writer who was still—somehow—able to capture the spirit of their youth in her engrossing tales.

Thirty-two years after the 1981 publication of Blume’s hit novel Tiger Eyes, an adaptation of the book will make its way onto the big screen this Friday—the first of her 28 books to do so. The Hollywood Blog caught up with the legendary author (who co-wrote and co-produced the film with her son, director Lawrence Blume) about casting the film, the writers who inspired her childhood, and the enjoyment that Twitter brings to her life.

The Hollywood Blog:It’s kind of wild that one of your books hasn’t been turned into a film yet.

Judy Blume: Well, this is the first. It’s fun! At this stage of life, it’s so much fun. It’s something brand new.

And how do you feel about the final product—which you made with your son, Lawrence?

We co-wrote the screenplay; we produced it. And my husband came on and saved us when we were in production, as an executive producer. And I don’t mean saved us because we were making mistakes—although, God knows, we made mistakes—but because the other executive producers were absent and we needed somebody. I love it. I love it. I’m very, very, very proud of it. And that we pulled this off. We were so lucky in many ways because we have a wonderful actress [Willa Holland] playing Davey. Larry—“Lawrence” professionally, but I call him Larry—wanted it to have the same feeling as a first-person book. In order to do that, she’s in every scene. Everything is from her point of view. That can be a little tricky when you’re doing a movie. But I was determined to do that.

Now look, it’s a movie. It can’t be exactly the same. But you try to stay true to the characters, their emotional lives, and the spirit of the book itself. And that’s what you can do. That’s what we wanted to do. We knew that there were readers out there who would be disappointed. They’re very attached to it. So you can’t just think of them. That would be like writing and just thinking of reviewers or censors.

People didn’t realize it was us—we were doing the casting; we were making these choices—but “they.” “They better not ruin it.” “They better not have Taylor Lautner playing Wolf.”

Willa is obviously more known in this world, but it was nice, when watching the trailer, to see faces that I didn’t recognize right off the bat. And I think, as readers, we all picture what these people look like while we’re reading, because you paint such a picture of them.

First of all, when we cast Willa, we had no idea that she was on Gossip Girl or The O.C. But you have never seen Willa Holland the way she is in this movie. She carries this movie. Her expressive face means you don’t have to write every word of dialogue. It’s all there. She is amazing. The least vain person I’ve ever worked with. I haven’t worked with a lot of movie people, so that’s silly. But I’m putting myself in her shoes; I would be asking for the mirror. I would ask for hair and makeup. Never, never, never. She’s just totally natural. And maybe if you’re that beautiful, you just don’t think about it, or maybe you just don’t want people fawning over you. But she is so natural. And so lovely.

And Tatanka. Tatanka [Means, who plays Wolf] is just—he is a wonderful, wonderful guy. His steadiness, his voice, his calm nature . . . And to see Tatanka playing father and son with his actual father—and you know, myself and Larry, mother and son—Oh, I love it all!

It’s so great.

[Tatanka’s] father, of course, is playing Mr. Ortiz in the movie, who is dying. And just a few months later, Russell was diagnosed with cancer, just when we were showing the movie to the cast and crew in Santa Fe. Tatanka was with him and couldn’t be with us. The next morning we got word that Russell had died. But for me, to have had the experience of watching Russell Means work, I mean, he’s amazing. He brought so much to our movie. The pros brought so much, and the new people brought an energy of their own.

So why Tiger Eyes? You have many books to choose from, so why did you choose this one to become your first film?

I don’t think I have many books that would make good movies. I don’t know. I think Wifeywould. I’m sure Summer Sisters would if we ever get enough money. That could be the low-budget feature that this was. But there was no question. Larry and I had talked about endlessly it for years. And if we ever got the chance to do this, it was going to be Tiger Eyes. It’s cinematic. That northern–New Mexico landscape where we lived—we knew it intimately. It’s a big part of the movie. And so much of what happens to Davey happens in the caves and the canyons.

Well, I can’t wait to see it on the big screen. Who inspired you to write when you were growing up?

It was some need that I had to be creative. It didn’t have to be writing. It could have been anything. Any creative work. I can’t say I would have been good at [anything] creative, but that’s what was missing in my life. That’s what I desperately needed. And I was a reader when I was growing up.

Who did you read?

Well, by the time I was 12, there weren’t Y.A. books. So I would look in my parents' bookshelves, without restriction. They thought reading was great, you know? “Judy likes to read? Great. Read!” Nobody was afraid of what was in a book. So I read an adult book. So what? If I didn’t know something, I probably read over it. I mean, The Adventures of Augie March—that was one of my first favorites. By Saul Bellow. I mean, I just pulled it off the bookshelf, and I must have thumbed through it. I probably found something sexy, and it interested me. But then I read the whole book. And so I found a lot of great books there at home. But I read as a kid. I just had my favorites. My favorites were the Betsy-Tacy books, by Maud Hart Lovelace. They were reissued, and they still are wonderful books. There are a lot of women who grew up to be writers who loved the Betsy-Tacy books. Like Nora Ephron, Anna Quindlen. And when they were reissuing the series, the publisher asked all of these women who grew up to be writers to write introductions. Each one of us was assigned a book to introduce. And I went back and I read them all at that time. I locked myself up for a Sunday afternoon. And when I got to the end, I was just a bucket of tears. And not because it was sad, but because it was as wonderful as what I remembered.

Do you have a favorite of your own books?

No. That’s a question that everyone asks me. And I give them all the same answer: It’s like asking a mom, “Which child do you love best?”

You can’t answer that!

You can’t! Each one in a different way.

So Tiger Eyes was first published in the early 80s, and people are still reading it, and your other books that came out years ago. And I’m not surprised, but why do you think that this younger generation still feels so connected to you? It’s pretty amazing.

It is amazing. I am so, so fortunate, in that I have these wonderful, loyal readers of different ages. But I don’t know why. I remember somebody asking me many, many years ago, “Do you think kids will still be reading your books in 20 years?” And I remember that I answered, “I don’t really know and I don’t really care. I’m just happy they’re reading them now.” But now I care! I care a lot. I think—and somebody asked this last night—about Tiger Eyes, because it’s kind of set in this timeless zone. Because I don’t think that it’s about electronics or how our lives have changed on the outside. It’s about the inside. Do they ever change? We’re the same. We’re the same inside. We’re people.

Your books confront very real fears and issues for kids and young adults and teens. Obviously I don’t know everything kids are reading right now, but what first comes to mind are the Twilight books, the Harry Potterbooks—which are all wonderful fantasy books—but they’re not necessarily addressing what people are going through in a realistic way.

Well, we need to have all kinds of books. There are a lot of really fine younger writers, writing realistic fiction for teens. Like John Green and Carolyn Mackler. There’s a new writer named Kristen-Paige Madonia, who I’ve kind of nurtured. She’s one of my babies. She published a fabulous, original-voiced novel this year called Fingerprints of You. So there are a lot. It’s not just the dystopian. Although I’m not judging any of those. Because again, the more we have, the better. But I want them to always be able to make the choice, that if they want to read realistic books, they’re there for them.

And what are you reading these days?

I’m on a break from the book that I’m writing. I can’t read fiction when I’m writing fiction, because I get intimidated if I read something really good. But on this break—I usually can’t even tell you what I’m reading—I know that I’ve recently finished The Flamethrowers, by Rachel Kushner, and I was most anxious to read that because she came to the Key West literary seminar in 2009, the year we were doing “New Voices.”

You’re big on Twitter!

I like it. It’s a tremendous—I don’t want to say waste of time, but it also . . . what can I say? I enjoy reading the people I follow and discovering new people. It’s a lot of fun. I get a lot of laughs from it. And it connects you; it’s nice. But anyway, I’m reading Meg Wolitzer's new book . . . what’s it called?

The Interestings!

Yes, The Interestings. I’m reading that now. And Edna O’Brien’s memoir. I’m very interested in her. She’s a great writer who went through a lot. Talk about being banned, in Ireland. She was always in trouble, and I admire that.

Thank you so much for taking the time; it was such a pleasure. When I have kids, they will be reading your books, I can guarantee that.

Well, let me give you one word of advice. I don’t give advice, but I’m giving you one word of advice. O.K? And I tell this to all moms at book signings who are so exciting about their children reading these books that they loved. You can’t—maybe you can say it to some of them, when they’re young enough—but there comes a time when you say, “Oh, you have to read this book,” or “Oh, I loved this book!” and your kid will look at you and think, “Ew. She’s so uncool. I am not reading what she likes.” So I say, if you can possibly afford to, get one with a new cover, leave it around the house, and say, “Oh, I don’t think you’re ready for that . . . yet.” Because I see them at every book singing. Lots and lots and lots of moms. And then they wonder why they can’t get their kids to read it, and that’s why. I just don’t want them to be disappointed.

Beginning Friday, June 7,Tiger Eyesis available in theaters and onVOD—iTunes, DirecTV, and In-Demand.